Foxie's Big Break

Every year at Foxie’s elementary school there is a play production on the stage. Foxie was so excited for this year’s play because it was their own adaptation of Cinderella.

When auditions came around, Foxie was very anxious on the days leading up. She practiced her audition monologue multiple times, both alone and with her parents. Once she felt like she had it perfected, Foxie had nothing more to do besides staying calm until the day of the auditions. 

On audition day, Foxie went to recess directly before the auditions and she felt like her stomach was in knots. She wanted to try and relax in a new spot: on top of the monkey bars. Foxie had seen other boys and girls climb on top of the monkey bars before, so she thought it would be a fun thing to do. However, as she was trying to get comfortable up there, she ended up falling off of the monkey bars. Her arm that she had tried to catch herself with was hurting really badly. Foxie began to cry. 

Other students ran up to Foxie to see what was happening, and quick enough the recess teacher came to her rescue. The recess teacher was very concerned for Foxie and her arm and rushed her to the nurse’s office. Once she got there, the nurse checked her out and told her that she would call her parents for her to come and take her to the hospital. 

Foxie felt sad and began to cry once more, saying, “I can’t go to the hospital, I have to go to auditions for the Cinderella play.”

“I’m sure they will let you audition another day, Foxie. You really need to get this arm checked out. It might be broken,” said the nurse.

When Foxie heard this, she did not feel any better. Foxie was devastated and in pain physically. When her mom arrived at the school to pick her up, Foxie cried the entire way to the hospital. 

“It’s okay, Foxie. You have plenty more years for school plays. And, who knows, they may let you audition tomorrow. But either way, it will be okay, pup,” her mom tried to console her.

“But mom, if it’s broken, I can’t be in Cinderella with a broken arm!” Foxie squealed. 

When they arrived at the emergency room, Foxie smelled smells she had never smelled before, and she wasn’t really a fan. Her nervousness switched over from being related to the play to being related to the hospital. This was Foxie’s first hospital visit, so she had a lot of fears when she saw the people in white coats. The hustle and bustle noises combined with the sounds of little wheels on carts and beds being drug around made Foxie feel uneasy to say the least. 

When it was finally Foxie’s turn to be seen, she told the doctor what had happened and she checked out her arm thoroughly. The doctor was very nice and comforting to Foxie, but the unusual situation that she was in left her still feeling out of sorts. The doctor ordered X-Rays for Foxie. 

There was some waiting that had to happen in the hospital room for Foxie, but having her mother there to keep her calm really helped. When the doctor came back in to see Foxie, she wore a smile on her face, indicating good news. 

“Foxie, I am so sorry you hurt your arm today. However, I am happy to tell you that it is not broken! So, you’ll just need to be careful with it and, for a few days, it might hurt. You can take some pain medicine for a couple days until it feels better,” The doctor said to Foxie. 

When Foxie got to school the next day, she went to the teacher who was in charge of the play and asked him if she could audition late, explaining what had happened. He agreed, and told her to stop by his room during recess. Foxie was over the moon with excitement and when recess came she went to his room and she proudly spoke her monologue. 

The teacher was more than impressed and he said to Foxie, “I’ll let you know if you are selected for any of the parts. Thank you, and you did a very good job.”

With a smile on her face, and pain still in her arm, Foxie returned to recess and curled up in her favorite spot: in the corner of the recess yard. A few days later, she received an envelope from the teacher in charge of the play. Inside was a letter inviting Foxie to take the part of one of Cinderella’s step sisters. Foxie was so excited and couldn’t wait to tell her parents. She immediately went to tell the teacher that she would be thrilled to have the part.

Foxie was honored to have the part in the play and had learned that working hard and not giving up were two ways to reach success.